Matilda Jane (Pierce) Alleman (1849 - 1914)

Ancestors

Biography

Matilda "Tillie" was born 11 Mar 1849 in Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania. Her parents were James Pierce and Margaret A. McCurdy.>^[1]

Tillie lived her whole life in Pennsylvania, before her marriage in Gettysburg, Adams County, and then in Selinsgrove in Snyder County.

In her first census appearance in 1850, Matilda (age 2) was in Southwark, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her family.^[2]

Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
Samuel Butler	M	33		Maryland
Hannah Butler	F	30		Pennsylvania
Amanda Butler	F	7		Pennsylvania
William Butler	M	5		Pennsylvania
Samuel Butler	M	0		Pennsylvania
Matilda Pierce	F	27		Pennsylvania
John Pierce	M	45		Massachusetts
Matilda Pierce	F	2		Pennsylvania

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In 1860, the family was living in the Borough of Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania, United States. (Note: their surname was spelled Pierse, and father James birthplace as Pennsylvania.) ^[3]

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
James Pierse	head	M	52	Pennsylvania	butcher
Margaret Pierse		F	50	Pennsylvania
James S Pierse		M	24	Pennsylvania	butcher
William H Pierse		M	19	Pennsylvania	butcher
Margaret A Pierse		F	14	Pennsylvania
Matilda J Pierse		F	12	Pennsylvania
Franklin Culp		M	11	Pennsylvania
Eliza Fetterhoff		F	48	Pennsylvania

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When the Civil War broke out, Tillie's older brothers James and William enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 and 1862 and fought the Confederate soldiers south of Pennsylvania. The people of Gettysburg kept hearing that the rebels were about to make a raid, but these were false alarms. However, in June 1863 they received word that the Confederate troops had reached a neighboring town. A week later, while at the Young Ladies Seminary, a finishing school near her home, the teacher instructed all students to run home as fast as they could because those troops were on the edge of town, coming to collect horses and supplies before moving on. A week later, Union troops arrived.

On 1 July 1863, when fighting began northwest of Gettysburg, Tillie's parents made plans to send her to a safer place, the family farm of her neighbor Hettie (Weikert) Shriver, near the foot of a rocky hill south of Gettysburg known as "Round Top." Not long after her arrival at the farm, the Union artillery and infantry hurried by, and soon the barn began filling up with the wounded. At the age of fourteen, Tillie was about to experience some of the heaviest fighting of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The farm, being so close to the battlefield, was never safe from sniper bullets, shells and cannonballs exploding overhead. Tillie carried water from the spring to the thirsty soldiers and assisting surgeons and nurses however she could. The number of wounded and dying brought to the farm was enormous - filling the barn, house, and surrounding grounds. For three long days the battle continued. When it was finally over, the doctoring and nursing continued for days until the wounded were able to be moved to hospitals.

In 1870 Tillie is living with her parents.^[4]

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
James Pierce	head	M	64	Maryland	grocery merchant
Margaret Pierce		F	59	Pennsylvania	keeping house
Matilda J Pierce		F	20	Pennsylvania

Tillie married Horace Alleman on 28 Sep 1871 at the Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg. ^{[5] [6]}

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Harris Allaman	head	M	32	Pennsylvania	lawyer
Tillie Allaman	wife	F	32	Pennsylvania	housekeeper
Harry Allaman	son	M	6	Pennsylvania
Anna M Allaman	daughter	F	2	Pennsylvania

In 1889, Tillie published her account of her experiences during the Battle of Gettysburg: At Gettysburg: or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle; A True Narrative".

At the turn of the century in 1900, Horace and Tillie had been married 29 years and had children, all still living. ^[7]

1900 Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Horace Alleman	head	M	53	Pennsylvania	attorney at law
Matilda J Alleman	wife	F	47	Pennsylvania
Anna M Alleman	daughter	F	20	Pennsylvania
Mary C Alleman	daughter	F	18	Pennsylvania

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Horace died in 1908, and in 1910, Tillie is the head of household and living with her daughter.^[8]

1910 Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Matilda J Alleman	head	F	55	Pennsylvania
Anna M Alleman	daughter	F	30	Pennsylvania

Tillie passed away on 15 Mar 1914 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is buried in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Selinsgrove, Snyder, Pennsylvania.^[9][1][10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Death Certificate "Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-66B7-7RJ?cc=1320976&wc=9FRQ-DP8%3A1073208102 : 16 May 2014), 004009354 > image 159 of 529; Philadelphia City Archives and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Tillie J Alleman death 15 Mar 1914 (born 11 Mar 1849), daughter of James Pierce & Margaret Mccurdy, in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. ↑ 1850 Census: "United States Census, 1850" citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). FamilySearch Record: M4CP-TRL (accessed 28 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HY-DCXW-QM9 Image number 00241
3. ↑ 1860 Census "United States Census, 1860", citing Page: 41; Affiliate Publication Number: M653; Affiliate Film Number: 1057; FHL microfilm: 805057; Record number: 9392, FamilySearch Record: MXPK-H2Y (accessed 5 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9BSC-9ZQW Image number 00199, Matilda J Pierse (12) in Borough of Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania.
4. ↑ 1870 Census "United States Census, 1870", citing Page: 15; Affiliate Publication Number: M593; Line: 38; FHL microfilm: 000552788; Record number: 5564, FamilySearch Record: MZLM-QXN (accessed 5 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-64PS-BB4 Image number 00147, Matilda Pierce (20) in Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania.
5. ↑ Marriage Record "New York, Church Records, 1660-1954", citing Marriage, New York, United States, multiple churches, New York, FamilySearch Record: QGPN-556L (accessed 5 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-CSMW-439V-2 Image number 00988, Tillie J Pierce marriage to Horace Aleman or Alleman on 28 Sep 1871 in New York, United States.
6. ↑ Penn Marriage "Pennsylvania Marriages, 1709-1940", FamilySearch Record: V263-3TT (accessed 5 June 2023), Tillie J Pierce marriage to Horace Alleman on 28 Sep 1871 in Gettysburg, Adams, Pennsylvania, United States.
7. ↑ 1900 Census "United States Census, 1900", citing Affiliate Publication Number: T623; Line: 30; FHL microfilm: 1241481; Record number: 31672, FamilySearch Record: M34M-ZL3 (accessed 5 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: S3HT-DCJ7-GBD Image number 00654.
8. ↑ 1910 Census "United States Census, 1910", citing enumeration district (ED) ED 154, sheet 3A, family 76, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1415; FHL microfilm 1,375,428, FamilySearch Record: MGDY-TV9 (accessed 5 June 2023) FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GRK2-S425 Image number 01102, Tillie J Alleman (55), widowed head of household in Selinsgrove, Snyder, Pennsylvania, United States. Born in Pennsylvania.
9. ↑ Death "Pennsylvania Deaths and Burials, 1720-1999", citing FHL microfilm: 1289384; Record number: 112, FamilySearch Record: HNZR-XW2M (accessed 5 June 2023), Tillie P Alleman death 15 Mar 1914 in Snyder, Pennsylvania, United States.
10. ↑ Memorial:Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11122572/tillie-pierce: accessed 5 June 2023), memorial page for Tillie Pierce (11 Mar 1848–15 Mar 1914), Find A Grave: Memorial #11122572, citing Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See Also:

• Mrs. Tillie P. Alleman. Adams County News (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) 21 Mar 1914 pg 5.
• "Tillie_Pierce,", Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed June 6, 2023).
• "Tillie Pierce – Teenage Girl's View of the Battle of Gettysburg", "History of American Women, Colonial Women 18th-19th Century Women, Civil War Women" (accessed June 6, 2023).
• "At Gettysburg or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle", "A Celebration of Women Writers", University of Pennsylvania Digital Library (accessed June 6, 2023).
• "At Gettysburg: or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle; A True Narrative" Tillie Pierce Alleman (W.L. Borland, New York, 1889).
• "Tillie Pierce House Inn", Civil War Ghosts (accessed June 6, 2023).
• Hospital Scenes: The Jacob Weikert Farm at Gettysburg. Adams County Historical Society 2 Jul 2021 (viewed 8 Jul 2021).